Betta Fish? Tell me more?

[LauraLeigh]

I miss having a tank, don't have room for a big set up...

Saw a neat Betta tank that has a divider so you can have two.... Never had them before.... Are they hardy? Live long? High maintenance? Any advice?

Thought about a small tropical tank, but the size Id get would not allow many fish and frankly the ones I like need a ten plus gallon set up and my house is pretty full...

[Greenmagick]

How big is the tank? Bettas are often put in tanks that really are too small. I also think it stresses them to see each other and be "on guard" all the time

Otherwise, they are a pretty fun and hardy fish.

This is my daughters....we have only had him a couple months but her previous one we had for several years. (I had one for almost 4 years before as well) He is in a 10g tank with some snails.

[LauraLeigh]

I was looking at a 5 gallon if I had a single, the 10 gallon had a divider and I thought about stress so was actually going to consider having hubby "wrap" the glass with a solid waterproof vinyl... Not sure if that'd work?

I could go a 10 gallon no divider if that's what's better for them, and have a single fish... I truly know nothing about them... Except they are pretty lol

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

I think a 5gal is plenty big for a single betta as long as you get a tank that is long as opposed to tall. They need horizontal swim space. We have one in a 3.5 gallon currently and I want to move him to a 5 (he used to be in a 10 and is only temporarily in the 3.5 gal). I have a 5 gal in my bedroom with 2 male guppies in it and its surprisingly bigger than you would think. I think they have plenty of space in there.

[Psyfalcon]

Heater, heater, heater. Many betta problems are directly caused by being kept too cold.

With a 10 gallon tank you could consider adding other fish species too. I recently added some cory catfish to the betta tank. While the betta has chased the catfish on occasion, its not like two bettas together. Everyone still has their fins.

[Greenmagick]

I think either one of those ideas would work fine. They really have awesome personalities IMO and are a lot of fun

[CharlieDog]

I kept a single male in a large (48) gallon tank with some fancy guppies for awhile. They left each other alone just fine. The male guppies initially thought about messing with the betta, but he flared at them and they decided it wasn't worth it. After that every one left each other alone.

He currently lives on my mothers desk with some snails in a ten gallon though. I wanted to add some slightly more aggressive fish and didn't want them to fight. Hes quite happy in the ten gallon.

[Xandra]

If you'll go as big as a 10 gallon, you could set up a 'sorority' with multiple females. You'll have to look for colorful females and they won't have the finnage, but they're still pretty and have personalities!


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Otherwise 5g is fine for one male and (usually) a couple other fish and with a 10g you can have a male and (usually) some other fishes as well. I'd recommend putting the betta in last though.

[frostfell]

10g for one male (and misc other fish as friends like cherry shrimp or white clouds) or 20g for a harem of females. dont feed commercial food, i recommend live plants, and yes definitely a heater

i also dont recommend buying mass produced sickly ugly "puppymill" fish from petco and petsmart and the like. buy from a breeder or importer. you will get a healthier betta that lives easily twice as long, and is a million times more attractive and lively

I like this breeder the best <3<3<3<3<3<3 http://www.bettaakapes.com/HTML%20Pr...see%20all.html

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

I've had two Bettas. The first lived for about four years - the first year in a 1.5 gallon fishbowl, the last three years in a 5 gallon tank. I've had my current Betta for about a year, in a 5 gallon tank. I don't have room for a larger tank setup, so I've never had anything else in the tank with them.

Most "betta tanks" that are advertised in the stores are much, much too small to humanely house a fish.